Re: Re: camping  was: bbsing   
     By: Nancy Backus to Damon A. Getsman on Tue Jun 02 2015 12:57:04   
      
    NB> Shinies etc can be quite distracting at any age... ;)  And birthdays   
    NB> (and other special occasions) can be a good time to scratch the itch, as   
    NB> long as one doesn't go overboard...  :)  Happy Birthday to the kid.. :)   
      
     Oh for sure.  I'm finding that I'm getting better at dealing with these   
   things as I get older, but I also note (and I'm in a perfect situation for   
   noting this right now, as I wait for someone much more prone to distractions to   
   come and sit down so that we can do some paired coding together) that it   
   certainly does still seem to be a big issue for a lot of other people of all   
   ages.   
     I've passed your well wishes on to my son.  He appreciates it, belated though   
   as it may be.  It's good for him to get a little reminder of some of the good   
   things that have been going on recently right now...  Just last night he ended   
   up coming down with either some nasty food poisoning or else some really wicked   
   short illness.  He ended up throwing up at least three times last night   
   (projectile, and with a whole lot of stomach contents to get rid of-- poor   
   guy), and has been suffering a pretty wicked sore throat and [I believe, though   
   currently unverified by thermometer] a bit of a fever today.  Poor kid just   
   hasn't been getting much of a break lately.  At least it happened once school   
   got out for him (yesterday was his last day).  I mean, I'm pretty sure that   
   he'd see things in the opposite light, but after all of the time that he missed   
   with crap as of the last school year I'm glad that there wasn't any more added   
   to that...   
      
    NB> That all sounds simply GREAT...  :)  Work that you can enjoy, and a   
    NB> steady cashflow...  :)   
      
     It's been really nice.  Things have come along, such as my cat, that really   
   rocked the boat and have made it a bit difficult to hit the target number of   
   hours lately, but that being said, I'm finding this work experience much better   
   than anything that I've had since at least 2001.  It's soo nice to be able to   
   do something that I don't loathe, something where I'm learning more in areas   
   that I actually care about, and something where I'm pairing with my roommate   
   which makes things a little bit more fun than they would probably be otherwise.   
      
    NB> As with any technical field, there was bound to be some having to catch   
    NB> up with new developments... but with the basics in place, you shouldn't   
    NB> be having too much trouble fitting the new stuff in...  :)   
      
     Yeah.  Well with the devops nature of this particular segment of work there's   
   always going to be a bit of internal things that I have to learn due to a   
   myriad of different suites and packages being deployed to whatever particular   
   situation.  So there's always a bit of a curve which, despite being annoying at   
   times, is kind of good from the standpoint that keeping a learning curve is   
   good for the mind/brain in general, IMO.   
      
    DAG>> those situations.  I suppose being on the road for so long when he   
    DAG>> was still 2-2.5 years old really helped prep him for it a bit,   
    NB> Some things you do because you have to... some because you enjoy them...   
    NB> and it's nice when it's some of both...  ;)   I'm sure though that the   
    NB> no other alternative sorts of things can get old real fast, as the sense   
    NB> of adventure wears off...  ;)   
      
     Definitely.  We've had some interesting times, and no doubt it has changed   
   the recreational aspect of some of the activities that we've had...  I don't   
   know, I'm kind of going through a phase right now where, despite our   
   limitations and the lack of kids in the area, I'm trying to figure out what   
   kind of a routine we're going to have for things this summer.  I'll write more   
   about it later, I'm actually trying to get this out before I do some work in a   
   little bit here, but I could probably use some input on some of the different   
   things that I'm considering.  The limitations of the situation that I'm in is   
   going to make it interesting, to say the least, and I'm definitely at the phase   
   where I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel a bit.  But yeah, more on that   
   later.   
      
    NB> A good lesson in why consistency is so important... One doesn't have to   
    NB> be a martinet and deny the kid everything, but it still is important to   
    NB> have the boundaries and keep to them pretty much, so the kid is secure   
    NB> in knowing where they are...  Saves a lot of trouble in the long run...    
    NB> The kids that have learned that a tantrum will get them what they (think   
    NB> they) want generally aren't actually happy with the results, either...   
    NB> not that you could get them to admit it, though...   
      
     Oh I know how important it is.  That being said, I definitely need to work on   
   it in my parenting methods.  Especially when I've been getting tips from other   
   people who lack in consistency a lot that are telling me that I need to be more   
   consistent with things.  Heh.  It's been really tough in the setting that we're   
   in right now, but the summer drive is on now.  Hopefully things can be set up   
   by the end of the summer well enough so that we'll be in a setting where we   
   have a new primary location with enough space for all of us; I think more than   
   anything else it's the fatigue at the whole situational aspect that's kept me   
   from being a little better than I would like with the consistency of it all.   
     But yeah, I can always tell when my consistency hasn't been what it should.    
   That's when the 'big stick' has to come out.  Then it's used, and then things   
   are better for a time.  He's really good at responding very quickly to it, and   
   doesn't push things too far, at least at the age that he's at right now, when   
   such is the case.  When I'm doing better with it he's really great about doing   
   the things that he's supposed to right away and not pushing the limits.   
      
    NB> Sequoias and redwoods are pretty awesome...  :)  I can't blame him for   
    NB> wanting to share those with you...  :)   
      
     It was great.  ;)  Unfortunately I was working without very much battery life   
   left in my phone most of the time.  So, while I managed to get some decent   
   photos from parts of the trip, when we went out on the absolutely breathtaking   
   hike from the top of one of the ridges down to the bottom of the gorge where   
   the ocean was meeting the forest, the phone lied to me and told me that it was   
   taking and saving the pictures, while the whole time it was losing the very   
   best ones.  :(  I think that I should be able to get some of those pictures   
   back from some other members of our trip, though.   
      
    NB> I can certainly relate on the bronchitis issue... I get that   
    NB> periodically... Nice that your body could just fight it off on its own   
    NB> this time..... ;)     
      
     Yeah my health has been doing a lot better than it has for a very long time,   
   actually...  at least since I've gotten over the various plagues that had a   
   pigpile on me after first getting here.  I can tell that I've been taking care   
   of myself really well, fitness-wise, also, because I don't think that I've ever   
   had a resting heart rate that is often below 64, and mine pretty much sits and   
   hovers right around 60 now.  It's nice to see the fruits of my hard work, even   
   if they're in statistics that really don't mean much beyond the medical   
   journals.  ;)   
      
    NB> Pluses and minuses to camping... and too much at a time can definitely   
    NB> be a put-off for more...  ;)  Plus you have other things on your plate   
    NB> now that have more than minor benefit to them...  ;)   How long is this   
    NB> camping trip to be...?   
      
     Well the last one was a Friday night to a Monday.  My son got to miss a full   
   day of school out of the last week of school that he had, so he was pretty   
   pumped about that.  As for right now there are no more planned for the   
   immediate future, which is good.  Parts of the voyages that we had been going   
   on were starting to be a little bit more like tasks than like vacation.  Plus I   
   think what I really need more of right now is some time to cement the good   
   habits and routines in place, not escaping it and taking a monetary hit when I   
   really need to be saving up a nest egg right now.   
      
    NB> The minor hassles of life... ;)  Guess you need to pack a waterproof   
    NB> surface to roll out onto the picnic table to protect the cards... ;)   
      
     Yeah.  Lots of my camping gear disappeared during those last rough   
   relocations when I was in North Dakota still.  I'm still missing some stuff   
   because of that; when we start getting into a ready-to-camp mode again I'll   
   hopefully have the resources available to start restocking these supplies,   
   though.  Plus, with my normal doom-n-gloom outlook on society and the way that   
   our government is taking things, I like having survival gear around just in   
   case things start looking like some sort of a trip out to a nondisclosed   
   location in the hills might be a good idea.  :)  Call me paranoid, but we live   
   in a crazy friggin' world, even if we _are_ mostly isolated from large chunks   
   of that in this country.   
       
    NB> It works for me.  :)  My web browsing (little enough as it is) is kept   
    NB> separate from my other computer pursuits.. And when I do, I can avoid   
    NB> ads and popups etc simply because I'm using a text browser usually.. ;)   
      
     Yeah I've had some systems that I made do with for a long time that had   
   solely text-browsing capabilities.  It was always kind of a nice break from the   
   media that pervades everything, and just being able to take time from it to   
   read.  'Course web development has catered to that so far these days that a   
   disturbingly high percentage of those sites won't even render into a format   
   that can be displayed properly in a text-only browser any more.  I actually   
   just resurrected a laptop of mine that is pretty much in that status.  It just   
   doesn't really have the processing power to be handling full media and a   
   bloated browser floating around in its RAM.  Plus it's got some media issues,   
   too, so it's a lot more reliable for just working and handling text-only   
   sessions when that's what's desired.  (Sorry if I'm rambling or jumping from   
   topic to topic a little bit here; I've had some people relocate out here that   
   are severely distracting me from what I was trying to do in responding to this   
   message since I started it)   
      
    NB> Nice effort...  I note that there are two more from you here in DADS...   
    NB> but I'm off to do stuff myself now... those will have to wait...  :)    
    NB> We'll get caught up soon enough...  ;)   
      
     Yeah I've been really slammed with different things lately, so I'm trying to   
   get to a few more messages that I know I've got piled up in different echoes,   
   too.  So no worries about it taking awhile, because things are definitely going   
   to be taking awhile from my end, too.  Especially when I've got the kind of   
   distraction brewing next to me that is going on right now.  God it's going to   
   be nice once there's been enough cash saved up to pick up a place that gives me   
   a little respite from the distraction when I need it.  *tries to go to the   
   happy place*  Oh yeah, I didn't have a chance to meditate today, either.  No   
   doubt that's causing me to be a couple of steps behind where I could be with   
   this all right now.   
     Anyway that's it for now.  I'm gonna try to get some work done now.   
      
     -D   
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